With the renewed, dare I say unprecedented, interest in personal protection pistols; manufacturers have been scrambling to get updated and new designs to market.

Ruger, for one, has been doing an exceptional job. The LCP™ and the LCR™ were two tremendous hits that Ruger has followed up with the LCR™ in .357 Magnum.

The LCR™-357 is the newest addition to the LCR™ family of revolvers, chambering the powerful .357 Magnum in a compact, five-shot revolver that weighs only 17.1 ounces. Although the same size as the original LCR™ chambered for .38 Special +P, the LCR™-357 has a blackened stainless steel frame to help in handling full power .357 magnum loads.

For a reference consider that the weight of the Sig Sauer P238 with magazine is 15.2 ounces…

For two (2) ounces more you get five (5) shots of .357 Magnum, not bad at all.

Ruger developed this gun after receiving overwhelming requests through their customer “Voice of the Customer program”.

I have no doubts that it will be a successful seller, but… it’s success hinges on experienced handgunners who are wheel gun fans.

Ruger touts the DA only action with their “patented friction reducing cam” as a great trigger for first time gun owners. It could be the smoothest trigger in the world; however, in my opinion, the felt recoil and the flames shooting out of the end of a 2” barrel are not likely to be new shooter friendly.

If I were considering this pistol I would definitely choose the Crimson Trace grips as you’re going to need every advantage you can get to get accurate follow up shots.